Christmas is over

Finally....I love it I do, but it is a rush that I am glad we are finally coming down from! I hosted Christmas eve this year! My mom, dad and sis arrived early in the day to watch the CHARGER game and help me with preparation (kept the kids busy for me while I prepared and that definitely counts for something!) I made Salmon, and Chicken (because my sister and uncle do not eat fish the crazy humans) Green Beans, smashed potatos. My Grandma brought a cesear salad and a spinach salad; and my sister made a delicious pumpkin cheesecake for desert! It was only my Dad's side of the family as my mom's side does not live in CA, and none of my husbands family does either! But it was an awesome night! My dad is the only boy with 3 sisters! and then he had 2 daughters! (so you can imagine the joy he finds in William being a BOY)! My Aunt Joyce plays the guitar and sings, we discovered that Nathalie does too! She was incredible (both my aunt and my daughter) I may ask my aunt to give her some lessons once she turns 3?! My Dad, my Aunt Susie and my grandpa helped play Santa Clause long after the kids were in bed by assisting me in assemling Nathalie's Kitchen good thing b/c it took us over an hour can you imagine if I had attempted to do that alone Ha! Christmas morning Nathalie was so excited by the presents (this is the first year she's really understood what was going on).....we stayed at our house until about 10 (Sam had to go to work) and the kids and I headed up to Nana and Papa's (my parents house)....Nathalie wasn't feeling too well, but she still enjoyed Christmas which was great!

is it christmas yet?

This has been pretty much the question out of Nathalie's mouth everyday for about 2 weeks! She has developed this inquisitive nature of late that I'm just not sure about! This morning she asked "Mom is it Christmas yet?" I said, "No hunny we still have 5 days," she replied "oh" and then I heard her say to William "we have 1-2-3-4-5 days until Christmas William" "MOM" she yelled (although I was sitting right behind her) "what hunny?" "Is Santa gonna bring Nana presents too?" "Yes baby he will" "Good because she wants some"

annnual meme

Okay, so I am relatively new to this whole blogging thing as I only started in May! One blog I find myself reading everytime I get on the computer is Elaine's! Well today when I read her blog it showed me the following post mini review, and I began on my journey to find out who came up with this brilliant idea! So I clicked on The silent K, from which Elaine found out; and proceeded on and on and on. I ended here frogblog, just incase anyone wondered?! Well so here's my mini mini review, since as I previously mentioned I've only been doing this since May Ok?!

May
William joined our family 4 weeks ago and made us a complete unit.

June
today was a great day, I actually got to go see nikki to get my hair done, and William cooperated :)....

July
O my if Nathalie wasn't Nathalie I think I would just die.

August
Hi everyone, I've been soo busy this week, I worked m-th, so finding time to do anything has been limited, with that to my defense I wanted to tell the story of Nathalie's new shoes, and because I'm lazy, I simply cut and pasted an IM conversation I had with my friend Lauren, sorry its not more personal....

September
I know its been forever.and yes we are still alive.

October
Dear Son
Today you are 5 months old, and I can hardly believe it.

November
thank goodness for my small miracle (aka William)...We (Nathalie, William and I ) Went up to Morro bay to visit my friend Kersti, her daughter Hayli and their newest addition "baby Emma" (as Nathalie refers to her).

December
I'm Special
Hah! I mean you all already knew that right!


so thats that!!!! Next year I promise you 12 full months! I just want to add that I am eternally grateful that both of my children are sleeping right now which allowed me the time to post this!

My snuggly boy!!!

William fell asleep on me today in his wrap while at a friends house watching the Charger game...My sister captured this moment on her new camera! and I couldn't help but share the moment with all of you

William is 7 months old

William turned 7 months old on the 4th (yes 3 days ago) and I haven't gotten a chance to write his 7 month tribute because there is SOOOO much to say, but I'm going to attempt to do it now.


Dear Son,
This month was one full of enormous leaps and bounds developmentally; the kinds of leaps and bounds that make mamma sad because your growing up way to quickly! You are now not only crawling, but climbing, pulling yourself up to standing and cruising along the furniture. You have a true desire to follow your big sister around and I think its highly possible that you are going to be walking at a younger age than she did (she was 10 months old). Your first two teeth broke through last week, so you have two bottom teeth now as well. You have begun to develop a bit of separation anxiety, you don't like Daddy, Sissy or I to leave you alone and you let us know it, if one of the three of us isn't with you then you fussingly find your way to us, and show such exuberance when you find us! Son, you and your sister are the lights of my life and I am so thankful to have you both!

10 years of Time

inspired by this weeks theme at mama says om!


Time runs away from me so quickly....Just yesterday I was in High School: carefree with hopes; dreams; & aspirations....My ten year reunion is coming up in May or June....and where am I today? Am I anywhere I thought I'd be 10 years later? Well lets see my Senior year I was 100% sure that I wanted to be a High School English Teacher; that I wanted to Leave California and start a family after I was ready? Truthfully is anyone ever ready...mind you this was my 17 year old brain thinking.....Time Flies..... At 18 I began working in a good neighbor pharmacy called Casa Drugs to help support myself through college... I was attending grossmont and cuyamaca community college... I progressed quickly received my AA in English after 2 years and transfered to San Diego State; where in my last semester I decided I wanted to become a pharmacist rather than a teacher; so I crammed 21 units into one semester (while working two jobs) I began working for Rite Aid this semester in the pharmacy, due to the flexibility of their hours being much greater than the smaller good neighbor pharmcay and graduated after a total of 3.5 yrs of college with my BA in English Literature...I began shortly after that taking prerequisites for pharmacy school, Chemistry, Physics, Microbiology, and the dreaded Math.... I dated a lot in college, but nothing felt right, like it was it. I moved out on my own I lived in a studio apartment in Banker's hill that was furnished and that I payed Way to much to live in, it was walking distance from the Rite Aid in Hillcrest that I was working at. After working for Rite aid just about 7 or 8 months I met a man, the man. Sam who is now my husband, he was (still is) an assistant manager for Rite Aid, and I found him to be handsome, sincere, kind....all the things every little girl has dreamed of finding in a man he was. I felt butterflies in my stomach everytime I saw him, I had only experienced that one other time, it was amazing... He was persistent and I finally commited to a date; i was his hook line and sinker. We were married a year and a half after we started dating and Nathalie wasborn 4 months later ( yes if you can do the math she wasn't exactly um planned) however we were already engaged so to me it was god's way of blessing us with our daughter and the timing was insignifficant! She has been an incredible blessing and when William was added to our family this past May our blessings doubled.... So time has flown by these past 10 years; and I am a teacher, not of high school English, but to my children each and everyday. I have a wonderful family and to me that is allthat I need in my life!

a gift to give and give back!

Look at these books for an awesome gift idea that you give and get back!!! For only 15 dollars what a deal....I definitely want to order the grandma and grandpa ones for my kids to give to nana and papa for xmas!!!!

I'm Special

Hah! I mean you all already knew that right! I'm so excited though because I thought it was always so cool how people could write one word and you could click on it and it would link you to something else, you know what I mean, Like this, William and I never knew how to do it (so yes I'm a little behind). apparently its called a hyperlink....well now I know how to do it ha ha im so giddy!!!

William crawling

about 2 weeks ago William upgrading from combat crawling to FULL ON CRAWLING and this week his newest move is to pull up to standing on things, um excuse me could you please stay a babe for a while longer momma is not ready for 2 walking children....

Auntie Nichole got a new camera and was over using it at our house yesterday; she captured this lil clip of william crawling....

click here to see our little man in action http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a121/scarika/?action=view&current=11-28-06014.flv

two front teeth

YEAH they are finally here, after days and weeks and months of anticipation, William's two front bottom teeth broke through the gum last night!!!! Woo hoo, so my baby truly has been fussy for a reason. Its funny in a not so funny kind of way, Nathalie never made a peep when she was teething and then suddenly she had teeth, (on the other hand she makes more than enough peeps now lol) and William has been peeping about these teeth for about 3 months, I'm so glad they are finally here, and hope that this will bring him some much overdue relief!!!!

Inside

Inspired by this weeks theme at www.mamasaysom.com


Today was an inside day, mommy was feeling very lazy ( af came to visit for the first time since William's birth :P), Nathalie was running a bit of a fever and William was much on the cranky side, hopefully due to teeth coming in?! I was going to spend the day cleaning and it didn't happen...about the only productive thing I accomplished was polishing Nathalies finger and toenails and that was because she begged so nicely!

Scars on the outside are often visible, easy to see; its the scars on the inside that noone sees and unless one reveals them others may not know they exist. There are several scars on the inside of me, and I am afraid to share some of them; most of them infact, but I know that as I build courage to tell the stories of the scars inside of me I will become stronger and help them to heal in the process. However now doesnt seem the time nor the place for that.

Inside of me I fight a constant battle with myself to stay strong for the sake of my children,
to set a good example for them to show them the good that really does still exist in this world. inside of me I repress anger, insecurites, and burdens in order to stay strong for my family. Often I confide in my husband as he is my best friend, although at times I feel that he (as a man) expects that I have overcome much of the emotinal struggles that I have dealt with for as long as I can remember!

I suspect that everyone is complicated on the inside, with lists of internal scars that would take up thousands of pages. So remember what you see as perfection in someone from the outside may only shadow what is lurking on the inside!

To Give Thanks

I am thankful for my family! Call me Lame,tell me its a cop out but thats what im thankful for. I hope you all have a great thanksgiving

my BIG boy

okay so William went to the dr's today for his really bad bowel movements and he weighs....19 pounds and 6 ounces!

oh and by the way....

I just wanted to refresh you all back to this entry, the day I returned to work a little over 3 months ago http://senwlong.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html and yes i'm still nursing and yes William is now over 6 months old! okay now im not as sad :) have a nice day!

yes my daughter is a girl (duh)

well you see Nathalie is quite a rough girl, she likes to climb, play in dirt, kick balls (of the soccer sort you dirty minded folks you!) she's a bit tomboyish if you will. on the other hand she loves to dance, sing, go to gymnastics, where skirts/dresses/ has a new found obsession with TIGHTS and SHOES (lord help me) and aparently now mom's make-up (which by the way mom hardly ever wears)....this morning she came out of the bathroom with eye shadow on (her cheeks) and mascarea (on her face.noteyes. and arm) My camera was missing but I promise you all it was a beautiful moment! I love my daughter to pieces and I feel like sometimes, okay maybe a lot of times lately my nerves have been very tried by her, but she is worth every pressing moment, I can't believe she's 2 and a half (yesterday) the time has gone so incredibly fast, my little baby is becoming a big girl. okay now im sad.goodbye.

Coffee and me...

I never use to be a serious coffee drinker, really I would just drink it once in a while b/c I needed the extra "kick" but nothing to serious. Then I became a mom of one and I slowly grew more dependent on coffee. nothing to serious, just my once a week coffee turned into 2 or 3 times a week. THen I became a mom of 2 , the 2nd child being one who wants to nurse all.night.long still at 6 months old and I have come accustomed to drinking coffee on a daily basis!well then you must be privied to the delight I felt today when I drove by this new cafe to soon open on La Mesa blvd.... http://www.javamama.com/ Just thought I'd share my joy with you!

Heroes

inspired by this weeks theme at www.mamasaysom.com :

Heroes....

a favorite subject of mine......as I recently have come to believe that everybody is somebody's hero! I am instanly surronded by the country song "she's somebody's hero" by Jamie O'neal, reminding me that in my daughters eyes I too could be a hero!

Growing up I had people that I looked up to, that I would consider my "heroes," they included but were not limited to my Dad, My Mom, My grandparents, a few of my teachers...etc

As a late teen and early adult I coached cheerleading and taught dance, finding that I had an impression on many young people, making me realize that I should watch every move I make, what if I was out w/my friends drinking (after I was 21 of course) and I saw a parent fo a student...you never know who is watching and how they will be let down by a wrong move!

as my life progressed my opinion of those people who I had held on pedastals for many years slowly diminished and I realized that I had different heroes....today I consider my sister a hero of mine, for surving the death of two people a week apart who she loved dearly (boyfriend...and best friend since kindergarten)..... My Dad still remains one of my hereos, b/c to me a hero is someone you can always lookup to when you need help and to me that is my dad! and single moms to me are heroes, b/c I never could do it on my own!!!

William is 6 months old

our dear son is 6 months old today and I can hardly believe it! the time has flown by! here is my monthly tribute to him:

Dear William:

6 months ago you changed the dynamic of our family forever, and at this moment as you are nursing while I type this to you all I can reflect on is the incredible joy you bring to all of us! your sister is madly in love with you she loves to make you laugh and smile, sometimes she plays a little rough, but only because she doesnt know better at this point! You take it like a man though you just let her torment you, I guess she's really just preparing you for the women of your future (lol).... This month you have started "crawling" you don't crawl in the conventional since, but you get up on all fours rock back and forth, hop like a bunny, roll, scoot, army crawl you name it. You sit a bit unsupported but not for long periods of time and I am sure that will come soon! when on all fours you like to push up onto your feet as well! no teeth yet and to an extent I am quite thankful for that! You ate some peas today for lunch and loved them!!!! but really were intent on just wanting to nurse so of course I gave in! at any rate the past 6 months of my life have flown by! I can't believe your already 1/2 a yr old! happy 6 month birthday to you!

small miracles

thank goodness for my small miracle (aka William)...We (Nathalie, William and I ) Went up to Morro bay to visit my friend Kersti, her daughter Hayli and their newest addition "baby Emma" (as Nathalie refers to her). My original plan was to drive home today (thursday) but last night around 5:30 while William was nursing Nathalie was a little whiney and asking for Daddy so I said what the heck I'll drive home tonight. So when William finished nursing I started to load up the car and saying our "good byes" by the time we got on the road it was 6:30, its (according to mapquest a 5 hour and 45 minute drive) the drive up took 7 hours due to traffic, and having to stop to nurse William, so I figured we'd make it home by one or so.....Folks I got home at 11:30, william slept the entire way, no peep at all!!!! Although Nathalie only slept about an hour b/c she was so excited to see daddy she was so good I couldn't believe it! I am currently exhausted but so happy to be home, and to get to sleep in a real bed (after an airmatress for 5 days)....hope all you are doing well

bye bye binky

Nathalie has loved her binky dearly....around the time I discovered I was pregnant with William we started to limit the use to naptime and bedtime, or when she was hurt severly upset etc.....I told myself I would never force her to give it up as many toddlers her age need things such as this for comfort, especially with a new baby coming. When William came along she increasingly would use it more and more and I was ok with that. When I returned to work at the end of July Sam and My schedule became opposite of one another and with him being away on Friday and Saturday nights (working) I have allowed Nathalie to come and sleep with William and I to her this is the ultimate treat, when daddy gets home he moves her to her bed and such is our weekly routine. I have found that when I am the one in charge of the bedtime routine I often become frustrated in the SEARCH OF THE BINKY. Friday night was one of these nights so I looked at Nathalie and I said "Lets just go lay down in Mama's bed" she said "ok.blankie. where's binkie" I said well hunny your binky took a vacation. she said "ok" and we made it through night one without the binky. she asked for it a couple of times during the day yesterday and I said "they are all gone now" she never cried she never asked again.... Last night she slept without it again and today even took a nap without it! So this my friends is Nathalie's farewell to the binky!

Mama is on the computer finally

Life runs away from me. the seconds, the minutes, the hours, the days, the weeks, the months, the years! Originally when I started our family blog I commited myself to at least one post a week and I was blowing that out of the water! and then recently I have become busier as my innocent newborn has become an exploriative infant who will a) attack the keyboard while in my lap or b) scoot backwards across whichever room he is left alone in! So now my computer time has become extremely limited to the 5 minutes I have alone to myself while both kids sleep simutanously one time a week! No I'm not even half way joking, I wish I was! sort of anyways, I love every moment with them I do! Today we went to playgroup and it was fantastic, it was suppose to be a craft day but the mom who was going to host was sick so we ended up at a park, which Nathalie loved. and i loved. i loved this park because it was completely surronded by fences with one way in and one way out! it was amazing to be able to let Nathalie run wherever she wanted exploring and plyaing with her friends. trying to get her to leave 2 hours later wasn't an easy task, but I know in time it will get easier. I hope. ok well friends I'm outta time as William is beginning to stir! ttyl~E

Fall

This weeks theme at www.mamasaysom.com is Fall, and although this picture of Nathalie is from Last Fall, I found it so appropriate for the theme that I had to post it !

5 months old

Dear Son

Today you are 5 months old, and I can hardly believe it. In the blink of an eye the past 5 months have passed us by! You are getting to be so big, already 18 pounds! The interactions between you and your big sister please me and bring a smile to my face on a daily basis! You scoot all over the place and roll like crazy! You have learned to blow rasberries with your tounge and love to hear yourself squeal! Its amazing to me that you are already trying to do things like sit up and crawl and in the same moment it frightens me tremendously, am I really ready to be the mother to 2 mobile children? um I think not! Ha! You are a bundle of joy! The other day I was calling you Liam because when Nathalie says your name it comes out (weeeammm) so i thought (as I did before your birth as well) that Liam was a great nickname,! Your dad took one look at me and said yes that is a nice nickname, but his name is William (well I stand corrected, yet he can call you chunky mc chunkerston and thats ok? lol) ! Honestly you are a William it suits you so well, and I am so use to calling you William that no nickname fits in my eyes! You are your own person and as your Dad and I have discussed many times, we will call you whatever you want to be called! I love you dear son and I cannot believe 5 months has already passed us by!

yesterday

I turned 27. it happened so fast, in the blink of an eye really. I just graduated High School yesterday (what my 10 yr reunion is coming up?)

We went to Sea World to celebrate, it was an awesome day. the first day we've gotten to spend together as a family since my return to work excpet for Labor day. Nathalie had such a good time, it was so neat to watch her and her extreme amazement of all the animals. She sat for 25 minutes and watched the dolphin show, and all of you that KNOW Nathalie KNOW how amazing that is! William was a happy guy all day. I am so glad we went, it was a great way to celebrate my bday, Sam, the kids, my sister and me!

Poor little William has been having terrible bouts of constipation, he'll go 10 to 12 days w/ out pooping all the while having terrible (I mean enough for me to think its Sam and not William hee hee) gas. and then when he goes its sooo much. He still has been spitting up terrible amounts and some days are worse than others so I have eliminated Dairy from my diet, to see if that will make any difference, I hope it does!

Well it is that time of the evening for me to go get ready for work :(

i'm going out.alone.nokids..nohubby...first time in over a year and I am utterly giddy!!!! I am going to the toby keith concert tonight with my sister and our friend carolyn...and im not driving oh but i do have to work at 9am ha.

beauty is.....

Beauty is
Looking into my children's eyes
and seeing unconditonal love.
a smile
a laugh
the giddiness of a 2 year old

Beauty is
the sound of my dh's heart beating
next to me in bed.
a soundly sleeping infant inbetween us
and the moon shining in the window.

Beauty is
the blessing of a family
a roof over our head
food on our plates
and peace in our hearts.


this weeks theme at www.mamasaysom.com is beauty is and this is what it brought out in me! hop on over to see what so many other wonderful people had to contribute to this weeks theme!!!!

Halloween and my sad day today!

well Halloween is just around the corner and I am as excited as all get out I LOVE HALLOWEEN its my favorite I just simply love it. My dh who I love dearly normally could careless about what my kids wear when especially at halloween normally (for the past 2 yrs) i pick up a costume and say oh look what Nathalie is gonna be this year! well the other day the following conversation occured in my household....

S: what is William gonna be for halloween?
me: well I don't know I honestly hadn't thought about it!
S: Well, I saw a really cute Lion costume the other day, and I really want to have him be a lion
me: okay

So then in my brain I kept thinking what am I going to have Nathalie be and at Walmart the other day I saw a dorothy costume! and the following conversation occured between my 2 yr old and I

me: Look Nat a DOROTHY costume do you want to be DOROTHY for Halloween?
(mind you my daughter has no idea who dorothy is)
Nat: Yeah momma me dorothy red shoes too redshoes
me okay

so I bought the dorothy costume , but have yet to get red shoes but will........


Now re: today....DH had to give william 3 ounces of formula and I have been crying about it all day....he finished all our bm that was frozen and I have been pumping my heart out.....I will continue to nurse him as much as possible and pump to keep up the supply while im working but it breaks my heart I'm sad.....but life will go on!

will's stats

william is 17 pounds and 26" woo hoo my big boy...and i must say I LOVE< LOVE, LOVE OUR NEW PEDIATRICIAN!!!!

Hello (many echoes follow)

I know its been forever.and yes we are still alive. I missed writing a post for William's 4 month bday on Monday, but he is now 4 months, he laughs all the time and talks to all of us, especially to Nathalie, He rolls, He scoots, He has graduated out of his infant carrier and is now in a convertible carseat, my baby is growing up to fast. I missed Nathalie's 1st gymnastics class on Tuesday, but she did go to her first gymnastics class! I am a working mom! a Busy busy working mom. I cried a little when I wasn't the one taking Nathalie to her very 1st gymnastics class. and then I realized I will probably miss many of my children's 1sts. I wish I could stay at home. I hate child support (see previous post regarding step daughters). Don't get me wrong I think it is the right thing for my husband to do he is their father too, it just makes me sad sometimes to realize that I could probably stay home if there wasn't that. but could i really? aww I guess we'll never know! William has a wbc tomorrow so I'll post with his stats once I get them! I'm tired and I have to go to work in an hour; immeadiately after my husband gets home. I ordered pizza for dinner as cooking really wasn't an option tonight. I hope you all are doing well and I will be back with more another day :)

teenager

well, today is sunday and I have had the past 3 days off, only to return to work tomorrow :(.....my middle step daughter Briana (14) was in for a visit for the past two weeks (and left wed.) and my older step daughter Jocelyn (17) flies in tomorrow.....I really don't want my daughter to ever become a teenager, thats it end of story, they scare me!!! I told my mom today that when Nathalie is 12 she's going to move in with her until she's 19 my mom said and I quote "I don't think so, I already had 2 teenage girls thank you very much"....So to you all I pose this questions, anyone want an extra daughter in about 10 yrs....that scares me as well, I have been out of High school the same number of years that it is until my daughter is a "tween" ok enough of that gotta go nurse william!!!1

update :)

William 3 months old and Nathalie and The afore mentioned vaseline incident!


well its been a week since my last post....William caught Nathalie's cold, and was taken to the dr's on friday for a freakishly strange rash... He is 3.5 months now and weighs in at 16.4 pounds woo hoo my big boy.....not to much is new here just wanted to post some pictures :)....talk to you all soon

stranger

I feel like a stranger to my own blog. I have worked the past 5 days straight, and am working tonight and tomorrow night. 7 days straight. I am GRATEFUl that I have a job, that I can provide extra income to our family, and insurance to our kids, but I dearly miss my kids the days I'm at work...I despise the mess I come home to every night, but Iknow that it just means daddy had fun with the kids that day which is the most important thing anyways! 2 more nights of work, and then I'm off for 4 days wooo hooo... ON top of it all Nathalie has been sick.and.constipated. both issues which have resolved themself thank goodness. William is sneezing and coughing every now and then but nothing near as bad as his sister was....well baby wants to nurse so i must answer to his call.

my need for breakfast...and cereal

I love breakfast....I am the kind of person that needs to consume calories immeaditely upon waking up or else I become a total b**ch from low blood sugar. Lately, since returning to work, I mostly just eat cereal because its easy and convienent. Well 2 weeks ago in the Sunday paper Kellogs had there own coupon section which included several cereal coupons, which I of course cut out ( I love coupons). One of the types of cereal that the coupons were for was Special K. Growing up I always thought of speical k as "adult" cereal, and figured it wasn't that good, and then I bought it. I am in love. For those of you that haven't tried it, try it its utterly delicious. I bought the yogurt berry and Vanilla Almond....the Vanilla Almond is by far my favorite cereal ever....Wow okay I can't believe I just wrote a blog about cereal.

3 months old

Dear Son;
Today you are 3 months old, and I can't believe how quickly it has flown by. I returned to work this week, and although leaving you is a very hard thing to do, I find comfort in the fact that I am only leaving you with Daddy. You are getting so big, already wearing 6 to 9 month size clothing and although I don't know your exact weight, I know its somewhere around 15 to 16 pounds (when I get on the scale, and then get on again with you, the difference is 16 pounds).....your still waking every 2 to 4 hours to nurse and I envy the sleep I got when Nathalie was an infant, but in the same moment I cherish those mid-night feedings we share. You smile all the time, and your laughter makes me giggle...Your beggining to ineract with Nathalie, smiling and laughing when she talks or sings to you and it is an amazing bond, I am so happy that I could provide both of you with a sibling.
My dear baby boy you have stolen my heart and I couldn't be happier that you are part of our lives and our family forever....Until next month, your mom

Nathalie's New shoes

Hi everyone, I've been soo busy this week, I worked m-th, so finding time to do anything has been limited, with that to my defense I wanted to tell the story of Nathalie's new shoes, and because I'm lazy, I simply cut and pasted an IM conversation I had with my friend Lauren, sorry its not more personal....(I am edeanne552, and she is Laurinic) im pretty sure you all would have figured that out lol...

So Nathalie needed new tennis shoes b/c her old ones suddenly didnt fit so I was like Forget this I am not going to spend another 30 bucks on a pair of stride rite that she'll outgrow again in a couple months....so I went to target
edeanne552 (8:20:16 AM): ...
edeanne552 (8:20:28 AM): they had an awesome selection and great prices
edeanne552 (8:20:48 AM): I had the cutest pair that were grey and pink sporty picked out and then IT HAPPENED
LauriNic (8:21:03 AM): it
LauriNic (8:21:07 AM): kid freak out?
edeanne552 (8:21:56 AM): Nathalie spotted the Elmo.velcro.Lite up shoes...the three things I said I never would buy in a kids shoe...1...a character....2 ...velcro...and 3 lights.....she looked at me and said "OH MAMA ELMO PEEEAASSE" now tell me who could say no to that?
LauriNic (8:22:24 AM): HA!!!!!!!!!!!!
LauriNic (8:22:27 AM): you are a changed woman
LauriNic (8:22:39 AM): oh that is so funny 1,2,3 knock um down
edeanne552 (8:22:46 AM): needless to say my 2 yr old is now the proud owner of velcro light up elmo shoes and I actually think htey are cute
LauriNic (8:22:50 AM): well i at least hope you got both pair
LauriNic (8:22:58 AM): as long as she loves them

work

okay, so I went back yesterday and it wasn't as bad as I expected. Of course I missed my kids terribly...I called to check in 3 times (not to excessive for being gone 9 hours right) William drank 4 expressed bottles WOW and nursed the second I walked in the door....I'm nervous about having enough milk pumped for him, I need to pump everyday at least once, plus the milk i pump while at work....although I'm hoping when I work my 2 short days (4 hours) that I can nurse right before I leave and as soon as I get home. This boy can eat, I find that today I am cherishing him nursing more than ever, the pump is not my friend, dont get me wrong I express plenty of milk when doing so but it is not the same as having my last darling baby suckling right?! I love the bond he and I share during this time, I missed it soo much yesterday, as i will miss it again tomorrow... I pumped 3 times at work ( 2 breaks and once on my lunch) when I went to pump the 3rd time (really only the 2nd time that my boss knew of, he didnt know i pumped on my lunch) my boss acutally had the NERvE to say to me "how often do you need to pump?" I took a deep breath and explainedthat I will be pumping 3 times per shift in an 9 hour day and one time (or maybe not at all?) in a 4 hour shift...Seriously as a man that has 2 small children you'd think maybe he'd be a little more understanding....he also asked me "how long do you think you'll breastfeed for?" "until my child is ready to wean" "oh" was his response and I just left it at that. I will not allow him or anyone in my workplace to influence my decision to breastfeed as I know it is the best thing in this world for my child and the bond it builds between us can not be captured in words....As I end this blog I leave you with a saddening statistic that I read earlier in this week.did you know that "Only 10 percent of mothers who work full-time are still breastfeeding their baby at 6 months, according to a 2005 CDC report."

Tomorrow :(

So, I have to go back to work....My due back date is monday the 31st....they have me scheduled monday through thursday.yes 4 days in a row....my boss just called asking if I could come in TOMORROW as in tomorrow from 9 to 6, wait, leave William for the first time for 8 hours (ok im crying now)...Sam is off tomorrow after all so what reason did I have to say no....I said let me think about it and i'll call you back...my very loving husband could find no reason why I shouldn't go in, so I am. and i am very sad. tommorrow i will re-enter the "real world" and I dont wanna!!!

tumble

this weeks theme at mama says om is tumble....I instantly thought of my little Nathalie and her broken wrist that occured in May; exactly one week after turning 2 and 2 weeks after her new brother was born.

our "vacation"

Well the kids and I made it back all in one piece woo hoo....the trip up took 7 hours and home took 6, so really it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. We had an awesome time, Nathalie had her first trip to the beach and LOVES the ocean. I am going back to work in one week and I am SO SAD, I really wish I could stay home with the kids. But at least I'm only leaving them with sam so it shouldnt be as hard right?!

a little kid at christmas and I hate the electric company

I'm tired. Exhausted actually to put it more precisely. I woke up at 4:30 this morning after going to bed at midnight. WHY is she up so early you all may be asking yourselves and then little answers may pop into your mind like "oh maybe she was nursing William, or maybe Nathalie woke up" NO my friends neither of those are the answer the reason I'm awake is because yesterday I decided that the kids and I would leave today instead of tomorrow to drive up to see Kersti, Aric and Hayli...and so I tossed and turned all.night.long. like a little kid at christmas time and finally at 430 i had enough i got up i got everything together i got myself all ready to go all the kids stuff ready to go and now i sit and wait....wait for william to wake up to nurse so he has a full belly optimising my driving time before stoping. Once he's fed Ill reluctantly awaken Nathalie, unless of course she awakens before then....Did I mention that if I was able to drive STRAIGHT through without ever stopping it would be a 5 and 1/2 hour drive...HA so wanna take bets on how many times I'll have to stop....this is the first time in 3 months that Ihave been thankful that Nathalie is NOT potty trained, b/c at least I won't have to stop for her to pee...lol....It will all be based on William (fingers crossed that I only have to stop once)......

SDG&E...I want to be them, we got our electric bill and its 135 dollars GASP....my dh's response "well at least we've been cool" OMG....we live in a 3 br appt wtf is 135 dollars....I told him he needs to go be cool somewhere else lol.....

alright, well I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I'll update you all on the trip when we return on Sunday or Monday.

relax :)

This weeks theme at www.mamasaysom.com is relax and I had this wonderful thought in my mind to search my camera for a picture of me relaxing and then as mentioned in my previous post there were some techinical difficulties so instead I'll be expressing my contribution in writing :)

Take A Walk;
Walk and breathe in fresh air.
Fresh Air to help you relax;
Relax and let down your hair.

Listen to the silence;
Silence broken by a child's cry.
Crying for milk from mommy,
Mommy runs to his side.

As a mother I try to find time,
time to just stop.breathe.relax.
relax.with tiny inquisitive minds
minds that I impact.

there's my little tiny tidbit I just came up with as I went hopefully not to cheesy, but hey I made it through without any "tiny minds" interupting me pretty impressive heh? it gave me a chance to relax :)

where do the days go?

Well...time goes so quickly and it all runs away from me!!!!!! I want to post pictures on this thing right, so here I go get all excited for it & my stupid printer wont read my memorycard GRRRRRR so I have to wait, but i'll put an old pic.... that was taken when william was 6 weeks old!!!! now he's 10 weeks so yeah a whole month ago...but once I can make it up to my moms to upload newer pics ill post those.....

I got a new cell phone WOO HOO Nathalie threw my old one in the TOILET which in a way was a blessing b/c I got a razor phone with photo and video capability WOOO HOOO.....

Nathalie's new favorite word is yeehaw although sometimes it comes out as HAAHAW lol....

Oh me and the kiddos are leaving thursday morning to drive up to Los Osos to visit Kersti and Hayli, and will be gone until Sunday...Sam gets 4 whole days to himself....lucky man hee hee...


PS Jen thanks for teaching me how to put a picture on here

vaseline

so this morning i was nursing william when i suddenly noticed immense silence from my normally not so silent toddler HMMM???? what is she up to... so i sneak out of my room (where i was feeding william) and she has pulled the step stool up to the changing table (uh oh) and has opened the vaseline (uh oh #2) its everywhere, her hair her face her hands so i sneak back in my room snap a couple pics (which she catches me doing and says "chhhheeeessse") and then i explain to her that playing w/ vaseline isnt the best idea, all the while trying to contain my laughter.....

the goose

this afternoon Sam, the kids & I set out for Lake Murray....We picked up a rotissere chicken along the way and Nichole came and brought some pasta salad. Nathalie was having sooo much fun chasing the ducks, and geese, and we kept telling her not to chase the geese....Well a goose bit her shoe, not hard, but it was definitely enough to scare her.....she said mama he bite! she came back over to the table ate some chicken and apples and then daddy took her down by the water, she actually put her feet in, up about to her shins and then oopsy she fell and was soaked...But she had such a blast, and I am so glad that we got out just for those couple hours, it made her whole day to chase some duckies and see her Dantie!

William's check up etc...

Well William had his 2 month check-up today and weighed in at 13lbs 4 oz's (nakie) and was 23 &1/4 " long, which are the 90th and 70th percentiles respectively....his head is only in the 4oth percentile which explains why I can't get a hat that fits him......Anyways after the appt we went to Nana's so Nathalie good get a little swim in & thank goodness I had Gabi with me, because William decided to nurse like the whole time we were there! Now of course he's been asleep since about 6 (& its 9), but Nathalie WILL NOT go to bed GRRRR; I should have known to expect this, Sam has load tonight (which means he won't be home until about 3 am) and for some reason (maybe she really just misses dadda?) she will not go to bed for me even after our normal bedtime routine brush teeth read story go to sleep NO, on the nights that sam has load :(.. So all my hopes of early to bed are gone! I'm sure she'll go to sleep as soon as William wakes up! We shall see....

William is 2 months old

my little boy is already two months old, and as I meant to post yesterday we got wrapped up in 4th of July festivities, so instead I am posting his 2 month tribute at 2 months plus 1 day...

2 months have passed since you joined our family....In a quick rush to join this world you melted my heart the instance I saw you. While I was pregnant with you, I kept wondering how I could ever share the love that I have for your sister, how it was possible to love a 2nd child as much as your first and then William there you were giving me all the answers. Its an amazing thing Birth, and you are an amazing baby. I am so happy that the lord blessed this family with both a Girl and a Boy. Nathalie will always be my little princess and William you my little prince. I enjoy every moment I get to spend with you especially the ones that I get to spend with you alone after Nathalie has gone to sleep...You are such a special baby, I love watching you explore and learn new things and I know its only going to become a more explosive learning process as time goes on. You are a handsome little devil, and your spirit is strong! You love to smile and coo, especially with Dad (which makes him thinks he's almighty, so thanks for giving him that William :) )... I love you son with all my heart, and thank you for brightining our family

FORGIVE

This morning William lie asleep in my bed as I heard Nathalie crying mama from the next room I reluctantly drug myself up looked at the clock OMG its only 530 What is my little I sleep until *8 o'clock toddler thinking ? I go in and she says mama meeelk awww so sweet. I leave Little W asleep in my bed as he is so peaceful and content and take Nathalie out to the kitchen to get her meeelk, when suddenly I realize she is missing I hear her say "mama my baby lilliam" OH no i run back to my room and she is shaking him I said "no nathalie baby william is sleeping you have to leave him alone" she says "i lub him mama" Oh man now what do I say to that, I ask "should we lie her with W and drink your milk and read a story?" "yes mama i sooowwwy" Oh dear daughter I forgive you!

My 2 year old PRINCESS

O my if Nathalie wasn't Nathalie I think I would just die. That girl is my Pot of gold at the end of my rainbow. Her smile lights up my life and for that I am eternally grateful....This past couple of days I have been not feeling so hot (I have a bout of mastitis)...and today I actually feel much better so I got showered up and got dressed. Asked Nathalie what she would like for breakfast and she looked at me so bright eyed and said "EGGGS MAMA" so I scrambled up a couple eggs w/ her assistance put her in her high chair gave her her fork and the egggs and she said mama i lub you...OMG my heart melted and yes I am post natal but come on tell me that wouldn't bring tears to your eyes....Man just when I'm ready to go crazy from having a 2 yr old and a newborn moments like this come around to remind me of how awesome it is to be a mama!

the heat

this heat is awful...I mean I love the sun, but this is a little to extreme for my liking. yesterday we went up to my moms,as sam was off, & spent the day in the pool! I can tell both Nathalie and William are just like mom what the heck is this heat...Nathalie has been drinking like a fish (and no not alcohol lol) and William nursing like a well baby hee hee....the poor little things are doing all they can to stay hydrated, and I've been changing the diapers that prove they are...William will be 8 weeks on thursday, and he has his 2 month check up on the 6th, it goes way to fast.

sleep? what's that?

since yesterday William has been nursing every hour and a half to two hours....I think I snuck in a 3 hour stretch early this morning....I am exhausted...On top of that Sam was off monday and tuesday and Nathalie has just been besides herself today b/c he isn't at home :( mommie apparently isn't good enough today!!!! Tomorrow I hope to get some rest and go up to Nana's house in the afternoon*(after nap time)....fingers crossed for some much needed sleep tonight....William is nursing once again.....I am simply his milk buffet if nothing else lol....

I made it out of the house by 9:30 2 days in a row :)

Thank goodness for small miracles!!!! Yesterday I took William and Nathalie to playgroup at 10 and we actually made it out of the house, to babies r us (I HATE THAT PLACE) and to the park by just a few minutes after 10....and that was even after William stayed up until 3 in the morning (boy that was fun lol)...Then today I made an appt for 1010 for William to get pictures taken for Daddy's day and we were actually at Parkway Plaza early enough to get Nathalie and Momma a smoothie at Jamba Juice before the pictures WOW I can't believe it I am actually being able to morph into the real world again. Right now my 2 little lovlies are sleeping both of them simutanousely its a miracle what am I doing, I'm gonna go follow their lead and catch a cat nap myself...till next time.....momma bear

Nathalie's 2 year old check up

today Nathalie had her 2 year old check-up and yes I realize its a month late but hey this is when they could get her in !!!! She weighed in at 29 lbs (80th percintile) and measured 35 &1/2 inches tall (90th percentile)....I snuck william on the scale and he was 12lbs 4 oz. okay thats the update...

cleaning fairy

I really wish there was a cleaning fairy, I woke up this morning took one look at my house and wanted to crawl back in bed...its like a tornado struck, and not in just one area EVERYWHERE....see we have tornado Nathalie in the front room who has strewn her toys anywhere imaginable. Then we have tornado Sam in our bedroom as he shucks his dirty clothes on the floor (um hi honey we have a laundry basket lol)...and then we have tornado everyone (including me) in the kitchen...as the dishes are in the sink and I am thinking ok in between nursing william, and feeding nathalie i really need to get this place cleaned up; so i'm pretty sure that today will be a little more tv for Nathalie than she needs but thats okay i guess since we were outside all day yesterday and will be most of tomorrow as well.

yipee the cast is gone

Nathalie got her cast off today and she couldn't be happier!!!! The first thing she asked Daddy for when we got home was a bath... Finally a real bath that Daddy can manage on his own awww how nice to have her back to the full Nathalie.....I think I'll wrap her in bubblewrap so she doesn't break anything else...William was soo good the whole time we were gone, he nursed once and slept the rest of the time, in other words mommy is gonna be up all night lol....oh well its part of mommyhood..

the zoo

yesterday *(monday)* Sam was off and we made our first trip to the zoo as a family of 4.... It was such a fun day, Nathalie is at the age now where she is really starting to enjoy days like this. She said lelefant to the elephants Mamal to the Camel's and Jafff to the giraffe's its so cute. Yesterday was a day that i really appreciated through the eyes of a 2 year old.....man to be 2 again!!!! William did pretty good too, only had to stop and feed him once while actually in the zoo; and 2 times in the parking lot one going and one leaving....I had made us a simple lunch of Turkey sandwiches and string cheese which was nice to sit at a shady table and eat!! Oh and Sam is now convinced that we need a double stroller *(we have one that we can use once william is 6 months old) but he's sure now that we need one for now!!! So I think I'm just going to start looking on craigslist and at the resale shops! Oh well, hope everyone else is doing well!

Weather

How about this extremely hot weather....all I can say is Thank God i'm not pregnant anymore!!!!! Poor Nathalie wanted to go in the pool at Nana's sooo bad yesterday and couldn't b/c of her cast!!! Needless to say we both can't wait until it comes off on Wednesday!!! Today William is 1 month old, I can't believe how fast its already gone by!!! I'm so sad to think that in just 2 short months I'll be back at work :( anyways hope everyone is doing well.

June 1, 2006

today was a great day, I actually got to go see nikki to get my hair done, and William cooperated :).... Nathalie got to spend some time with dada and then Nana came to pick her up for a couple of hours of play time at her house.... now Sam is grilling some hot dogs for dinner and I am feeding William! I love Summer and BBQ's

Our Family

William joined our family 4 weeks ago and made us a complete unit. Growing up I always wanted 2 kids, and now that they are both here it amazes me. The joy they fill my heart with, no matter how tired or worn out I am is unexplainable. Nathalie is so adorable in her little cast and I feel so bad for her, but she lets it slow her down none at all-- The resillance of my little 2 year old. William has hit the 12 pound mark, to put that into perspective for those of you who don't have kids, Nathalie didn't weigh 12 pounds until she was 4 months old....I guess we have a future football player on our hands!!! As for Sam and I, we are loving life as the parents of a sweet (wild) 2 year old and our newborn son; and are hanging on to the little bit of sanity we have left....